Highland League midfielder owes huge debt of gratitude as he rebuilds career
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COLIN Charlesworth has waited almost two years to make his debut for Huntly.
And now that he has kicked a ball in anger for the club, he is determined to make up for lost time.
The former Elgin City, Lossiemouth, Inverurie and Deveronvale midfielder considered quitting the game at the age of 29 after suffering a cruciate ligament knee injury while playing in Banff.
However, Huntly took a gamble on him and handed him a four year contract.
And Charlesowrth admits he owes a huge debt of gratitude to Huntly for giving him a second shot at Highland League football.
A torn cruciate ligament in his right knee left him facing a two year wait for surgery on the NHS followed by a lengthy rehab process.
Out of contract with Deveronvale at the end of that season, he feared his career was over.
“I seriously thought about packing it in,” he confessed.
However, Huntly helped Charlesworth with an innovative fundraising drive to meet the near £7000 cost of the private surgery in Glasgow.
Nearly two years later and Charlesworth played his first 20 minutes for Huntly in a pre-season friendly against Banchory St Ternan last weekend.
“It was the of the most nerve-racking things I have done.
“It has been tough and has been a long mental process,” he said.
“It does feel like a fresh start and hopefully I can prolong my career.”
Charlesworth, 31 on Saturday, July 16, is under contract for the next three seasons at Christie Park and is determined to repay the faith they have shown in him.
“Huntly were very proactive. I couldn’t hold anything against Vale because it was a big ask for a part-time team to stump up the money for an operation like that.”
Charlesworth set up a Justgiving page and everyone who contributed was entered into a prize raffle, with support from Huntly – chairman Gordon Carter in particular – and business contacts for prizes.
Inverurie-based Charlesworth – who had the support network of wife Naomi and sons Alfie (7) and Zayn (3) to get him through the down days in rehab – is looking forward to making an impact with Huntly.
He believes manager Allan Hale is building a team that can challenge for the top seven in this season’s Highland League.
And Charlesworth wants to play his part by drawing on his experience to nurture the younger players in the squad, the likes of Lyall Booth and Robbie Fraser.
He went under the knife in May 2021 and returned to full contact training in February this year.
“Getting out to the park and kicking a ball about with the boys was great motivation and I enjoyed the gym work.
“The surgeon was confident it would go well and the knee itself is probably the strongest part about me now,” added Charlesworth.
The player has also been able to draw on the support of his big brother Martin, a former Inverness Caley Thistle and Buckie Thistle player, and former Lossie midfielder Martin McMullan, two of his bosses at Pinefield Glass in Elgin where he works as a sales and estimating manager.
